“This is temporary, okay?” I look up at him, super nervous. In twenty-four hours, we went from not speaking to declaring love to moving in together…it’s way too fast for my liking. But his eyes struggle to meet mine.
Fuck.
“I know, this is weird. I’m so sorry, but it’s temporary. I should have called Addison, or Casey. I don’t think I have anywhere else to go. I could probably go to Noah’s brownstone?—”
“Hey, don’t apologize for this,” he says quietly, his hand gently gripping my chin and forcing me to look right at him as he smiles sweetly down at me, the tension bracketing my ribs easing just slightly. “Even if you had called the girls, I would have dragged you and your million and one shoes over here.” I nod and his hands move to frame my face the way he does. I reach for his wrists, enjoying the comfort of his skin on mine. “This doesn’t have to be temporary, Rosebud,” he whispers, and I repress the natural instinct to run. “But I know this is all a lot for you right now. That’s why I had another idea.” His smile is bright and I let go of the breath I was very deliberately holding.
“I usually love your ideas.” I chuckle and he does the same, dropping his hands from my face to grab my fingers, dragging me to his sofa. We sit and he pulls his laptop onto his lap so I can see the screen, and then pulls up a commercial listing. I look over the building, it’s stunning in its modern renovation of an old industrial building. White bricks with timber and black finishes. It looks like a commercial space at street level with a residence on top.
“I don’t get it,” I say. “I mean, it’s beautiful, is it a new investment?” I also don’t know what this idea has to do with me.
He chuckles lightly before sitting the laptop down and readjusting me so we’re looking at each other.
“My original offer…for Vixen Publishing still stands, Rosie, if you want it.” I suck in a breath, feeling my eyes sting a little, but I don’t dare say a word to interrupt him. “But I wanted to add something else to it.”
“Okay…what?”
He straightens, giving me his winner smile while gesturing to the computer. “The building. I reached out to the agent, and they’ve put it on hold for me. I want to add enough to the loan offer so you can get the buildingandthe start-up of your business underway. That way, you’ll have an office for your company and a place to live that is completely and utterly yours. I won’t own a cent of it, I can’t pull it out from under you—no one can. I know how important your freedom is, Rosebud, I know you need your independence and the last thing I want to do is smother it. I don’t care where you call home because I plan to be in bed with you every night, no matter what roof it’s under.” He looks at the listing on the computer again and I follow his hands as he points at different photos of the space. “Plus, there are different office spaces and a good open area near the large window, so you’d have plenty of space for a small team, maybe even Halle and Jasper?” He turns his head in my direction, and those seriously kissable lips pout because heknowsthat’s a big selling point. Having Halle and Jasper being a part of Vixen Publishing is important to me, and having a space where we can all work together? A dream.
“And the best part?” I’m still staring at him, watching his lips as they form each word, so stunned at his generosity that I can feel my stinging eyes turning into tears when a watery, “What?” leaves my lips.
“Your father can never take it from you.” No one has ever understood me in the way that Caleb does. No one has workedquite so hard to love me while letting me grow like he does, and I didn’t think it was possible to fall harder for this man, but maybe it is, because I think I just did.
“I can’t ask you to do this.”
He smiles ruefully at me, with one quick swipe of his thumb over the freckle under my eye. “You’re not asking. Iwantto do this. There is nothing wrong with asking for help, though, Rosie. It doesn’t make you less in control, it doesn’t make you weak. If anything, accepting someone’s help makes you stronger. Andfuck,it would really make me feel good to do this for you. To finally feel like my money is not just lining my pockets but making someone’s dreams come true. Can youpleaselet me help you make all your dreams come true?”
I blink at him, at the earnest gleam in his eyes, feeling the warmth of his hands on my skin, and I can’t contain it any longer. I launch forward and wrap my arms around him, and the joy erupts from my chest in a laugh as I smother kisses all over his face, tears leaking from my eyes as he tackles me back down onto the couch.
“Where did you come from? I can’t believe that I pushed you away for so long…that now you’re mine? You’re amazing, Caleb, and…” I take a really heavy breath as I pull back from my smothering kisses and stare up into those big blue pools of navy-violet. “I love you.”
His smile could be award winning, the little dimple on the side ruining my panties as he presses a long, sweet kiss to my lips. “I love you, too, pretty girl.”
“Oh, and that reminds me. Carmela really wants to meet you, so…we’re having dinner at her place tomorrow…and you’re cooking.”
“What!?” His face is almost pale as he sits up straighter. I pinch my lips together with a guilty chuckle, trying my best tohide how amusing his look of panic is right now. Also, it’s kind of cute.
“Still love me?”
epilogue
TWO YEARS LATER
Caleb
Iswipe my sweaty hands down my rather expensive suit pants and scan the entirety of the apartment. Satisfied that it is Rosie-panic-level clean while also looking pretty enough that she mightfinallysay yes. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s turned me down, though. I smile to myself, shaking my head. She’s fiercely independent, my girl, and stubborn, but fuck, I’m so head over heels for that woman. And tonight, I had a plan.
I feel somewhat prepared, having had a stab at this a few times—four to be exact—I’m…practiced. Tonight is the night. I can feel it.
I look over the dark apartment one more time, the white rose petals that line a path from the entry door all the way to the floor-to-ceiling windows of my apartment. The city lights illuminate the apartment in that beautiful way we both love, candles lit in different height pillars giving off a warm glow from where I stand in my best, most expensive Armani suit. I wipe my hands down the legs of said suit again while I continue to repeat the words in my head.
I’m not freaking out, at all…not even a little bit.
And then I hear her keys at the door and my heart lodges itself firmly in my throat, making a nice little home for itself there while it beats out a rhythm that nearly makes me faint.
Of course, she’s over two hours late, but I’m used to that now. With Vixen Publishing open and absolutely killing it, she, Halle, and Jasper are always working overtime. And though Rosie refers to it as “the inevitable destruction of dumb, old Neanderthals,” the loss of the Garcia funds led to the consequential closing of Andersen Schulz and Meyers only a year after Rosie dropped a bomb on her old life. That meant there were a hell of a lot of authors up for grabs, and Rosie being exactly the powerhouse she is, she snatched up as many as she could. Of course, it made her workweek longer, but I’ve never seen her shine quite so bright, and it does nothing but make everything we’ve been through together worth it.
Thinking about that shine now has me holding my breath as the door opens and she pushes through.
